Susan Mullally is a photographer in Texas. Among other things, she takes pictures of homeless people who congregate underneath an Interstate 35 bridge in Waco.

The portraits are of the people, rootless for various reasons, and the things they still treasure in their predicament. Mullally also interviews her subjects, who explain why they cling to certain things. For a quick read about a seriously compelling read about life amongst the homeless, check this out. But for a direct connection to some of those people, in their own words, Mullally has created a gallery of her work here. The one I lingered on the longest was Charles Rose:

Here he describes himself, and his game set:

I was a librarian, I read more books than you can fit under the bridge. I like Chess and backgammon, they’re intelligent games. I keep cards too and I don’t play traditional games, I play pinochle. I play with another homeless person who’s probably as well rounded as I am.

What it is, I’m 51 years old, I have four college degrees and I’ve been a carpenter for thirty years. I don’t know, I just got to a point where I couldn’t find anyone worth working for. This life becomes addicting because we’re our own people. We got no boss hollering at us and we go where we want to go and we do what we want to do. All I have to do is eat and find a place to sleep. I got my cans and copper wire; granted, it’s not the ideal life.

If someone gave me a million dollars I’d open another home for the homeless. I helped build My Brother’s Keeper (Waco homeless shelter for men) but never spent a night there. With all my degrees, even though I don’t use them, it’s nice to have the knowledge.

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